J&E BAPTISM PART 1

This will be the first of a few long posts, so consider yourself warned! ;) This is for all the family that wasn't able to attend & especially my Mom!

**So that the story will make some sense in parts I need to give some background on my sweet nephew Elliot. He will be 9 in June & is by far the sweetest boy I know. I'd have to say He's even sweeter than my nephew Carter who can make your heart melt in an instant! Elliot is Autistic & is very loving. He is high functioning & progressing at a great rate. He also has Juvenile Diabetes & handles it very well.**

This past weekend I had the opportunity & pleasure to attend the baptism of Jill & Elliot. Jill was married to my brother Michael & Elliot is his son. Even though Jill & Michael were divorced I still consider her my sister-in-law. Dear little Elliot is now all I have of my brother in this life & he reminds me of all the good that my brother Michael had in him. (If you don't know the Michael story & care to know just click on the Michael link below.) Now, let's start the story from the beginning.

Once upon a time... (about 2 weeks ago)

I received a phone call from Mignon (Mimi) asking me if I felt like going on a road trip. I thought that was really strange. A road trip with just me, my Dad & Mimi. Well, ok! Of course, count me in! But, why? It was then that Mignon informed me, with many tears, that we'd be heading to Colorado Springs to attend the baptism of Jill & Elliot. With a choked up voice I replied - "Are you kidding?!?!" It was a remarkable thing to hear! This was something we have been waiting years to hear! A very exciting time for our family!!

Luckily my husband was very supportive of me leaving for 4 days & knew how important it was for me & how important it was to me to be their. There was no question about me going & I can never be thankful enough that I was able to attend this amazing event!

FRIDAY - We drove all day - 13 hours. It went by fairly quickly & wasn't a bad drive at all. Don't ask my Dad that though, since he drove the whole time & Mimi & I watched movies the whole time!! ;) We arrived at J&E's home around 11:30pm. Look how cute this part of her front room is...

Elliot was still awake watching "Horton Hears a Who" & greeted us with welcome arms. Then, it was time for bed.

SATURDAY - We woke up & went to breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. Elliot thought it was great to go to Mimi's Cafe with Mimi! After breakfast Elliot was dying to show us the animals at PetCity in the mall where we found these sweet love birds...

He really wanted to go to PetsMart, but thought the mall would be ok as well. Wal-Mart was next on the agenda to get some food for the weekend.

In the afternoon on Saturday the Elders came along with the District Leader who needed to interview Jill before the baptism.

While Jill was in her interview one of the Elders sat on the floor with Elliot drawing pictures. He told us that they have been drawing out all the discussions for Elliot. Elder Okerlund drew out the First Vision & talked to Elliot about that. Then, he drew the Pre-Existence with dotted figures since we didn't have bodies yet. He had Elliot draw Heavenly Father & Jesus & he knew that they weren't dotted because they had bodies. The way this Elder interacted with Elliot was just amazing. I was so impressed & knew that these Elders were hand picked for J&E.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out, talking & watching YouTube videos. We showed Jill a slideshow of the Reflections of Christ videos & she was extremely touched. She was telling us how she's never been a crier, but now she can't seem to hold it in. She also is very aware that it's the spirit speaking to her.

SUNDAY - Church was bright & early - 8:30am.

(Don't you love how my Dad & Elliot are making the same face?!) We were their on time & we were instantly amazed at the wonderful members their. One lady came up to Jill & gave her some colored pencils & a pad of paper for Elliot. Thinking he might enjoy them. Well, Elliot takes after Michael in this sense that he draws constantly, so it was perfect! One of the risks you take of showing up early is being asked to speak. Who would ever think that would happen while you're visiting a ward, but it did to my Dad. I just laughed - only to my Dad would this happen as he is terrified of speaking in front of people. Geez - I wonder where I get that from? Apparently their speakers had some emergencies happen & weren't able to speak. They had some daughters that were able to read their talks, but they still needed to fill time & asked my Dad if he wouldn't mind giving a little talk & his testimony. Not to mention the fact that the Mission President was visiting. No matter, he of course was wonderful! Here's a couple of great points he spoke about:

{1} If your find yourself going through trials you're in good company! You're in the company of the Prophet, Apostles, even the Savior.

{2} He also gave one of our favorite quotes from Elder Grant:
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed, but our power to do so is increased."

{3} He told a little of his conversion story of how he first went into a chapel at 19 to a Christmas program wiith my mom. 6 months later he was baptised. He was fellowshipped well & church ball was a big part of that for him. While playing ball he had a member help him buy a car & another one owned a sporting goods store & gave him a job. He worked for Bob Kerr of Kerr Sporting Goods for years while going through school. A year and a half after joining his father passed away. He had members step up to help with funeral expenses. One even gave them a burial plot for my Grandpa. (who I'm excited to meet one day!) All of these things helped increase his testimony & gain a great love for other members.

After sacrament meeting the Mission President (Pres. Pfile) wanted to interview Elliot himself. We're guessing it was because of Elliot's unique situation. He allowed Jill to stay in the room so that Elliot was comfortable. When he came out of the meeting with Pres. Pfile Mimi asked Elliot how he did. Pres. Pfile said he did great. He asked Elliot what he has learned & he told him everything. Then, he said something that we'll never forget! He told us that he told Jill that he BELIEVES that Elliot will overcome his afflictions one day. He reminded us that we all know the power of priesthood blessings & that Elliot would be no exception to that! He then told Elliot he loved him & that he was sad he wouldn't be able to make his baptism, but good luck!

UNBELIEVABLE!! Everyone standing their was in tears & shock. One of the members of the Bishopric has an autistic son & told Mimi later how amazing he thought that was! What an awesome blessing it was to hear that from the Mission President.

After church we went home to rest & prepare. While my Dad, Jill & I took a little nap Mimi had books read to her by Elliot.

I enjoyed waking up to his little voice reading so well & with so much animation. He was reading a book at one point about a stinky garbage truck & he & Mimi were just laughing hysterically. It was so fun to listen to him laugh so hard & just be silly.

**As this post is forever long already I'll put the baptism on another post. The amazement doesn't end here!**